When I'm Done Here
by RavensWood
Summary: Bella's 21st birthday, new arrival in Forks, one who claims to be just a friend of Jasper. Is he her only link to the family? Why didn't Alice see her coming? Why can't Edward read her? Who is she, what is she hiding from everyone? Rating to be safe. R&R!
1. I Dreamed I Was Missing

**When I'm Done Here**

**By: Ravenswood**

**Summary:** Bella's "21st birthday" has come. It has been decided that the family has remained in Forks for far too long and will move on after the holiday season, for Charlie's sake. But what happens when a new arrival shows up in Forks, one that claims to simply have a passing aquaintance with our favorite Confederate Major. One that our resident psychic pixie didn't see coming and one that Edward can't read. Why is she so interested with Bella? And why does Edward keep getting painful flashes of a much younger version of himself when he stares too intently at the stranger. Perhaps she may not be as strange as he originally thought. Perhaps there is a reason why Edward remembers so little of his human life...

**Author's Note:** Okay, so the rabid little plot bunnies in my brain had a ton of fun with this one! This was originally supposed to be a one-shot story about a vampire girl that was accidently created by James. But then the plot bunnies got a hold of it and ripped it apart. First, they were like "_hey, maybe she knows one of the Cullen clan_." Then they said "_hey, maybe she could be related to one of them, you know, from the same maker?_" Then another said "_or she could be related to them from when they were human._" Things like "_maybe she ends up with one of the wolf boys_" and "_how about she's actually a former member of the Quileute_" and so on and so forth. So I screamed out loud a couple of times. Then I offered sanctuary, a little corner in my brain to roam free for the three plot bunnies who would pick up the nearest blunt objects and kill the rest of the bunnies for me. Many, many blood curdling screams and patches of fur later three tired but extremely pleased, blood-splattered bunnies stood before me offering me their humble services. So, here goes my attempt at writing my first Twilight fic.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight nor do I own the song "Leave Out All the Rest" from which I've taken the title of this story, or Linkin Park who's song it is, who are totally and completely awesome by the way. Because let me tell you, if I owned Twilight and Linkin Park...things wouldn't have been so cute...or chaste...or sparkly.

**Author's Note 2:** This story starts out when Edward is eight years old but this is not a child Edward story. It takes place mostly in the present, well, around Bella's 21st birthday, which is supposed to be in the year 2008 according to what I've found about Bella supposedly being born in 1987. But it will include 'past' chapters and flashbacks whenever appropriate. Enjoy and please review.

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><p>"Dani, wake up. Dani please, wake up!"<p>

The young boy pleaded to the still form of the girl on the bed. He took her by the shoulders and began to shake her.

"Edward, she's gone," Elizabeth Mason spoke softly to her eight year old son. "You have to let her go."

She gently tried to pull him away from the girl but he twisted wildly, almost violently out of her grasp. Without thought Edward jumped onto the bed, right on top of Dani. He seized her face with both hands and used his thumbs to pry open her eyes.

"Dani…Dani look at me…Don't you leave me...Don't leave me…" He said the last part in barely a whisper as he looked into the girl's unseeing eyes.

"Edward, you have to let go."

"Dani," Edward uttered. Almost before the name had left his lips Edward's head fell back, his green eyes rolled in their sockets. A moment later he dropped to the bed next to Dani convulsing wildly.

"EDWARD!" Elizabeth cried. She pressed his writhing body tightly against her chest. Just as quickly as they had started the violent tremors coursing through Edward's frame ceased. His small form fell completely limp in Elizabeth's arms. She screamed when she realized he wasn't breathing. After a moment she pulled him back and stroked the side of his face.

"Edward, sweetie, wake up," Elizabeth pleaded with her son, tears streaming from her eyes. "Wake up baby."

Almost immediately after the words left her mouth Elizabeth felt Edward quiver. It was a very faint movement, so small she wasn't even sure she felt it at first. Then suddenly, Edward's head jerked to the side.

"Edward!" Elizabeth gasped.

Edward abruptly shot up into a sitting position, sucking in a deep, gasping breath. Elizabeth cried out in joy as she enveloped him in a tight squeeze. His eyes opened wide, clearly exposing white all around his unfocused, intense green irises. His gaze darted back and forth erratically as though his eyes were searching for something his mind had yet to identify.

"Oh Edward," Elizabeth uttered as she pushed Edward back slightly to look at his face. "Are you alright? What happened to you?"

Edward's eyes continued to be unfocused. He made no reply to his mother's questions. Elizabeth looked on her son with a face that was a cross between puzzlement and panic. As hysteria threatened to break through Elizabeth looked to where Mrs. Abernathy, the housekeeper, stood in the doorway. The older woman's face was near expressionless as she stepped closer to the bed. She was about to voice her concern and comfort for Elizabeth and Edward when she stopped dead in her tracks. The tray loaded with tea things slipped from her hands and clattered loudly to the floor.

"Gretchen…what's the matter?" Elizabeth asked as she attempted to place a hand on the woman's arm. Gretchen Abernathy stepped back as she raised one bony finger and pointed to the girl on the bed. Elizabeth's gaze followed the direction to which the housekeeper pointed. She practically jumped out of her skin.

Dani's eyes were open. Much like Edward's had they were darting, unseeing, back and forth wildly. But whereas Edward's were open impossibly wide, Dani's were barely open half-mast.

"Dani?"

Just that single word was all Elizabeth Mason could bring herself to say but that one word was all it took. Edward's focus reappeared almost immediately. He pulled from his mother's hold and turned to face the girl. He placed one pale hand in the middle of her chest as he leaned over her.

"Dani? Dani…breathe…please, breathe," he beseeched the girl. Neither Elizabeth Mason nor Gretchen Abernathy could bring themselves to move to help or hinder Edward in his purpose. Edward moved in further until he was right on top of Dani, straddling her hips, his hand never moving from its spot on the center of her chest. He craned over her until his face was mere inches from hers.

"Jaclyn Daniela Erics," Edward practically yelled in the girl's face. "You listen to me and breathe! Right now…BREATHE DAMMIT!"

As though the exertion of doing two things at once was too much for her Dani's eyes stopped moving as her eyelids slid shut. After what could have been an instant or an eternity to Edward's almost fevered mind a low, gurgling noise could be heard. It was a slow, labored sound, agonizing to the ears to hear the pain behind the effort.

And then Dani's lips parted as she finally took in a breath. It was a shaky, gasping thing, but it was indeed a breath. Edward wrapped his arms tightly around the girl, lifting her from the mattress into an embrace. As he held her closely tears began to slide down his cheeks.

"I thought I was going to lose you there for a moment," Edward remarked as her laid the girl back on the bed, smoothing her damp hair back away from her face. "I knew you would come back."

Her mouth tried to form a word but her voice would not issue forth to say the word. Edward smiled nonetheless. It was his name she had tried to say. He bent his neck and placed a light kiss on Dani's cheek.

"Shh," he whispered as he lifted himself off the girl to sit right beside her. He took her hand and lifted it to his face, pressing the back of it to his temple.

"I'm here. I'll always be here. We will be together, you and me…forever."

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><p>Okay, so what do you think? I have a rough outline of where this is going but it may take a bit for the update. I actually had a completely different beginning part originally planned for the first chapter but thanks to the first two and half chapters being locked away in my dead laptop I've had to redo this story entirely. Eventually the original first chapter will be included, I just hope I can make it as good as it was to begin with. Stupid broken technology. Please review. The next chapter will either be Bella getting ready for her "birthday" party or the new character fighting two Volturi soldiers, I haven't decided yet.<p> 


	2. Cause No One Else Cared

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own squat. Go ahead, try and sue me…the only things you'll get are a collection of worn out, slightly humorous t-shirts and a very broken down car…trust me they're just not worth it.

Author's Note: The chapter titles are all going to be lyrics from Linkin Park's "Leave Out All The Rest." Originally I was going to do the lyrics in order but the content of the chapters I planned so far wouldn't have fit with the lyrics. Like this chapter would have been titled "You Were So Scared." I don't think that title would have quite fit this chapter. Read on and see if you agree with me.

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><p>Chapter 2: Cause No One Else Cared<p>

The cold air swept across the woods in harsh, unrelenting gusts. It was unseasonably cold for the middle of September and the icy rain that fell only exacerbated the situation. But the Midwest had always been known for its less than predictable weather patterns and erratic temperature fluctuations. As the girl crouched on the high tree branch she briefly wondered if perhaps this night would be a record low temperature. The rain was making the bark she clung to slick and cold under her fingers. It dripped down her neck and back, having long since soaked through her clothes completely. Not that the long sleeved red mesh shirt, black corset, red shorts and black fishnet stockings had been much protection from the elements in the first place. She barely registered her drenched state, only having noted it when she realized there was a thin coating of ice covering the metal buckles of her knee-high, thick soled black leather boots.

She hoped the water wouldn't cause them too much damage as they were her favorite pair of shoes.

But the weather was only a passing thought. As she waited for her quarry, a massive gust of wind blew through the trees with frightening velocity, enough to make the one the girl sat in sway dangerously. It whipped semi-frozen tendrils of the girl's more than waist length hair around her wildly, some of the shorter pieces thrashing across her face and eyes but she moved not a muscle as she patiently waited for those who were hunting her.

They had followed her closely, but cautiously, across three states before finally launching a full-on chase. She had, somehow, always managed to stay a step or two ahead of them, not that there hadn't been a few close calls along the way. She was only too happy that there were only two soldiers following her. Either the Volturi were extremely confident in the talents of these two or they had severely under-estimated her abilities. She knew the second was probably truer than the first.

Her eyes were the only things moving as they scanned the forest floor. She had chosen her perch carefully. The lower and farther reaching branches provided cover while a small gap in the leaves gave her a clear line of sight to a small clearing below. She was fairly certain they would follow the path she purposely left behind to the north of where she sat. The seconds ticked by like hours as she silently cursed one of the short comings of her 'gift'. She could use the ability from a reasonable distance but she first had to be able to see her intended target and had to take a few seconds to establish a connection with them. She could also establish the link through physical contact but strangely eye contact was best means of transmission.

"_Yeah,"_ she thought. _"That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to stand still and make eyes for the two goons who want to tie me up and drag me back to Volterra." _

These two had been clever. They had stuck to the shadows in their pursuit of her or moved among large crowds in attempts to misdirect her focus. They had almost succeeded at the university in southern Indiana. Fortunately, her less reliable ability had chosen that night to show itself and saved her from capture. The vile thoughts that had broadcasted from the superior's mind had been less than pleasant to experience. His subordinate expressed a more amused response to her evasion. He had cursed her with some very unflattering terms, but he definitely had a bemused admiration for her. Still, she knew he wanted to kill her and be done with it rather than take her back to the Trio. Since that night, six days ago, she had avoided crowded places, leading the two through less populated cities in their pursuit of her.

As if the mere thought had beckoned them, two black shrouded figures broke through the trees and into the clearing. They stopped midway onto the bare patch of earth, right where her tracks ended. The superior bent over and touched the last of her footprints. The bare skin of his hand as he almost caressed the dirt was just enough for the girl to gain entry. His mind bombarded hers with a thousand images. The girl cringed as she realized just how much this one enjoyed the prospect of 'making her talk' once he got her back to Volterra. He prided himself on being able to break anyone's spirit, human or vampire. No, pride was the wrong sentiment. It was more than that…he reveled in his ability. The pure, twisted joy he received from what he did was beyond comprehension. If she had been capable the girl might have actually retched from the knowledge.

Gio, the leader, motioned to the other, Joshua, who merely nodded his head before darting out of the clearing. His footsteps faded into the distance as Gio stood stock-still. The girl dared not move from her perch until she could determine if the guard knew she was close. Time seemed to have stopped completely as neither vampire moved a muscle. A bolt of lightning shot across the sky, illuminating the forest in brilliant white that shone brighter than the noon day sun. The crack of thunder that immediately followed was deafening, painful even to the girl's ears.

"Ouch," Gio exclaimed as he put an index finger in his right ear. "I hate it when that happens. That lightning bolt struck so close the thunder just seems to rattle your very bones. Don't you agree, Young Miss?"

The girl grimaced. So he did know she was there, somewhere, hidden amongst the trees. As he waited for a response the Volturi began to walk around the clearing. He touched the nearest tree and closed his eyes for a moment before shaking his head slightly and advancing to the next one.

"You know, you've given us quite a bit of trouble," he spoke as he touched the forth tree. His eyes popped open as he tilted his head to look up into the foliage.

The girl barely made it around the large trunk of her tree to avoid being seen. She wouldn't confront him just yet. She had to be sure the other was in the right position first. Still, she couldn't resist messing with the man a bit.

"Trouble…me? I'd no idea," the girl stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The man's head shot around trying to discover the direction of the voice but the girl had chosen this spot in the forest with just as much care as she had chosen her perch in the tree. The trail the two had followed to reach the girl had sloped downward sharply in a rather short distance. The path that the Volturi Joshua had taken curved around in an s-shape as it leveled back up to the rest of the forest. The high rock walls were far enough apart that the trees had enough sunlight to have been able to grow rather large. Essentially, the girl had led the two into a forested, mini boxed canyon. The solid rock walls echoed fantastically and basically scattered the sound of her voice around making it extremely difficult to pinpoint the source.

"Why don't you show yourself, sweetheart? We only want to ask you some questions. We mean you no harm," the man voiced smoothly.

Insincerely.

"No harm? Phft…don't make me laugh," the girl replied as she climbed to a higher branch. She heard a rustle and soft clink as the man jumped onto a lower limb of a tree on the opposite side of the clearing. He ascended the tree swiftly, all the while looking around for any signs of her.

"Now why would you think I'd harm you? True, I'm not the one who'll be asking the questions…" he paused as she accidentally broke a twig in her attempt to go higher. "I'm only the one who will be escorting you to those who wish to speak to you."

The girl knew that the man was now watching several leaves and sticks as they dropped to the ground. She silently cursed her slip as she concentrated on the man's position. She chanced another go on him.

"Escorting? Last time I checked being bound and gagged, possibly with several broken bones, was called kidnapping, not escorting."

"Whatever gave you the impression that such things would happen to you?" Gio asked as he leapt deftly to the tree the girl was occupying. He looked around as he bent to touch the spot the girl had sat upon when he had entered the clearing. "Have I not been polite this whole time?" He climbed higher until he stood on the reverse side of the tree from the girl at the same level.

"When or where have I ever expressed that I intend to hurt you?" He inquired pleasantly as he suddenly moved around the tree trunk to face…nothing. The girl was no longer there. Gio stepped out farther on the limb, scanning the surrounding branches frantically, his hood fell back to expose a headful of thick black hair.

"When?" The girl's disembodied voice rang out. "Now."

Gio strained his ears to find the source of the voice. Too late he figured out that the branch under his feet dipped slightly not because of the wind but from added weight as a single finger prodded the back of his head.

"Where? Here," she uttered softly as she dug her nail into his scalp. "You've thought about the things you'd like to do to me since The Elders sent you after me in New York."

"So, a mind reader then," the man chuckled softly.

"Not exactly," the girl replied.

Faster than human eyes would register the man turned on the spot and swung at the girl. She was prepared for his struggle and twisted just enough to avoid being hit. She grabbed his outstretched arm and used his momentum to throw him over her shoulder. He landed flat on his back, precariously balanced on the tree branch as she stomped on the middle of his chest cleanly breaking his sternum and a few ribs. She still had his arm in her grasp and twisted it brutally until she heard it break in several places. The now useless appendage dangled in the wind as the man howled out in pain.

"Goddammit," the girl whispered. There goes Joshua not knowing her location. She raised her foot from Gio's chest, intent on kicking him out of the tree. What she didn't plan on was the hand that shot up, grabbing the back of her waistband, and pulling her backwards off-balance and out of the tree.

"Son of a bitch," the girl breathed as she and the man plummeted to the ground.

The duo hit several branches on the way down before they landed. Gio landed on his back and the girl was on her side. During the downward free-for-all Gio had managed to land a few hits on the girl, managing to break her left cheekbone and twisting her right wrist in the process. The fall itself had broken two of the ribs in her back. She had succeeded in dislocating Gio's good arm from the socket and gouging out his right eye, as well as breaking his nose. Venom and blood now spurted out and down his face.

The girl's eyes darkened at the site of the blood. He had fed recently and if it was pouring out of his nose that meant there was still a fair amount of it running through his veins. She pulled herself up onto her knees and tugged Gio up by the front of his shirt. Her barely usable right hand clumsily snatched at the clasp of his cloak and tugged, breaking it to expose his neck. She didn't waste a moment and bent her head to his pale throat, her teeth ripping open his skin. As the cool liquid slid over her tongue she suppressed the cringing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Drinking blood from another vampire wasn't the best option for two reasons. One, the other's venom mixed with the blood added a bitter, slightly stinging quality to the blood and two, once blood was taken from its original source it cooled rather quickly.

The girl didn't know what was worse, cold human blood or warm animal blood.

Still, she drank down mouthful after mouthful. As she did she could feel the bones in her back knit themselves rapidly back into place. Her wrist quit throbbing and her cheekbone began to right itself. She would have taken more but the quickly approaching footfall broke her from her feeding. Joshua had returned. She released Gio from her grasp and stood to face the oncoming threat. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and took in the sight of his leader sprawled on the ground bleeding from a huge gash in his throat and the girl standing arrogantly over him.

"Giovanni?" The young looking russet haired vampire questioned in a whisper. He looked to the girl, pure hatred gleaming in his black eyes. "YOU BITCH! What have you done to him?"

"Him?" She asked as she used her foot to roll Gio onto his stomach. "Nothing much…just broke his left arm, in a few places, dislocated his right arm, and cracked a few things in his chest as well as his nose. Oh…and his right eye appears to be missing. Not quite sure where that landed to be honest."

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Joshua screamed as he lunged at the girl. She was actually surprised at the speed and determination behind the attack. In fact, in less than five seconds of fighting her he landed a punch to her chest that threw her quite a few feet in the air and caused her to skid a good distance across the leaf strewn ground. He was on top of her in an instant and pulled her up to his face. Apparently, he had no idea of her ability or he would not have looked into her eyes. The connection was almost immediate. She understood his ferocity fully. He wasn't just defending his superior; he was avenging an attack on his partner.

"I had no idea Joshua Thompson," she managed to get out despite his hand crushing against her windpipe. "I'm sure his eye will grow back…eventually. Did you know they were ice gray when he was human?"

"How do you know that?" He spit the question at her as he shook her violently. She grasped his wrist with both hands. "And how the fuck do you know my name?"

"I know things, Joshua Evan Thompson. I know his name is Giovanni Bonomo and that he's the reason you're part of the Volturi. He knew it was the only way for the two of you to remain close. He's a tracker and a pretty good one at that. Not the best mind you, but fairly good. He managed to stay hot on my trail after all. And you…well, you're quick, in mind and body. Excellent strategist, you can read a situation with remarkable accuracy and react accordingly. Unfortunately for you you've been pitted against me. And that, my dear Josh, does not bode well for you." She could feel the power in her small form begin to build. The vision obscuring white light that accompanied the coming outburst was already beginning to tunnel her vision. Vainly, she tried to suppress it: she hated the consequences that would ensue if she couldn't get it under control in time.

"And why is that?" He voiced acridly. He now held her off the ground, her feet dangling a half foot in the air.

"Because I don't fight fair," she answered in her most saccharine voice. "And I'm very flexible."

She held tight to his arm and brought both feet up to his chest. Planting both heels against his collarbone the girl pushed her legs straight and arched her back. Joshua's arm was ripped from his body before he realized what had happened. Venom surged from the gaping wound in waves before he even had a chance to scream.

"A newborn? A fucking newborn? Why the hell didn't anyone tell me you're a goddamn newborn?" Joshua yelled as he stumbled back from the girl. She pried his lifeless limb's fingers from her neck and chucked the appendage aside.

"I'm no newborn. I'm older than you by about a decade," she retorted. She ran at the boy placing both hands on his waist and forced him back into a tree. The tree splintered under the blow. She could hear bones in his back break though she couldn't tell if any of those sounds were his spine breaking.

Suddenly, a blow to her right side threw the girl into a boulder a good ten feet to her left. It split down the middle from the force of her body. Her left shoulder was dislocated and a trickle of blood ran down the side of her face from a gash above her left temple. Gio stood in the spot she had just occupied. He had kicked her aside, his arms still too damaged to be of any real use. The wound in his throat still dripped a bit of blood-tinted venom down his shirt.

"Bad move Gio," the girl pronounced with laughter in her tone. "Really, not good at all."

"Looked like a pretty good move to me," Gio rasped. "You're on the ground away from Joshua. How exactly is that a bad move?"

"It was a bad move because I won't be able to stop now. I had been fully prepared to leave you both alive but I'm afraid that won't be possible anymore," the girl informed the much older vampire. The mirth in her voice made her seem almost childlike to Giovanni.

When she raised her head to look up at the leader he was visibly startled. The girl's eyes seemed to almost glow as she strode over to the much taller vampire and clocked him in the jaw. The blow sent him flying. Joshua tried to make a grab at her but she simply backhanded him with her good arm effectively knocking out half of his teeth. She marched over to Gio and bent over his prone form. She grabbed a handful of dark hair and brought his ear to her lips.

"Death for the boy," her voice was dark, smoky compared to her earlier girlish tone. "I'll even make it quick. But for you, I'm afraid, is a fate worse than death. The only consolation I can give you is that you won't mourn the youngster. You won't even remember him but then again, you won't remember anything, not even yourself."

She dropped his head, pulled her right leg above her head, and immediately brought her thick booted foot down on the middle of his back. The crack was sickeningly loud as bone shattered under her heel. She then walked purposefully back over to Joshua. The fear in his eyes was heart-wrenching. If she had been in her right mind it may have given her pause in her mission, and it may have even made her give him mercy. But the girl was far from right minded at the moment. The power surging through her, controlling her was the furthest thing from mercy that one could get. Almost of their own accord her hands reached up, one grasped Joshua's face as the other reached around to the back of his head. The girl jumped up, her knees clenching the vampire's sides as she twisted his head completely around. His neck snapped and he fell to the ground. The girl, still clinging to his body, turned his head back around and pulled up. With the bones broken and major ligaments torn his head came off in one solid pull. Not much venom oozed out of him at that point, most of it had already been lost from his severed arm.

"Joshua," Gio cried out weakly. The girl's attention was turned back to the older vampire. She trod back to him and turned him onto his back. She sat squarely on his chest and looked into his eyes.

"Giovanni Bonomo," she began. "Give me all your mind holds…Give me everything, your thoughts, your desires, your fears…your memories. I take it all from you…you won't remember a thing."

His eyes focused solely on hers as she pulled everything out of him. He was over a century older than her and her mind was bombarded by everything she pulled out of him. When he was wiped clean the sheer volume of his mind knocked her over and off him. She rolled to her side and heaved up a mouthful of venom and blood. He fell into a comatose state and the girl's mind threatened to take a similar route as she writhed on the forest floor in the wake of what she had done. It took every ounce of her quickly diminishing strength to fight against unconsciousness. Through sheer will power she forced herself to her feet and over to the dismembered body of the younger vampire. She grabbed the remaining arm and tugged it free of the body.

She took both arms and the head and began the two mile trek to the waiting cave. Once there she started a fire with the dry wood she had planted there before setting the trap for the Volturi soldiers. When the blaze was going strong she placed the limbs and head into the middle of the pyre. When they caught fire she left to go back for the rest of body. Her strength was evaporating at an astonishing rate. She stumbled and tripped her way back to the remains truly uncertain of her chances at making it back to the cave. Her mind was trying to revert back into itself. If that happened, she would be left out in the open, defenseless and in peril of 'the change' that often happened when she overstretched her abilities. If that happened out in the open then, for lack of a better phrase, she was screwed. She fell to ground beside the body and took in a few deep breaths. Not that she needed the air but they helped to focus her mind on the task at hand.

When she felt centered enough she reached out to grip the body by the feet to drag it back to the waiting fire. She was knocked to the side by a blow to her face. A hand took a swipe at her, nails raking across her chest ripping the front of her mesh shirt to shreds. A blur crossed her field of vision before disappearing among the trees. The girl pushed up from the ground to chance a look at where she had left Giovanni's body.

The spot was empty.

She cursed under her breath. He hadn't stayed passed out for as long as she thought he would. Perhaps her ability hadn't taken as great a toll as she had originally thought and 'the change' could be avoided this time. As she reached down to grab the rest of Joshua's body she merely hoped that she would reach the cave without passing out on the way. Staggering the whole way and not quite remembering the whole journey the girl dropped the body onto the fire. The wet clothing smoldered quite a bit before becoming dry enough to ignite. When that happened the girl gave up on her struggle to remain conscious. She leaned against the far wall of the cave as the darkness began to swirl around the edges of her vision. She reached a hand up to the tattered bits of her shirt. It was beyond repair.

Panic seized the girl's waning mind. Not at her destroyed shirt, that could be easily replaced. The alarm came from the one thing she had that couldn't be replaced, the thing she knew she had not the strength left to recover. The hand that had swiped at her had ripped it right off her neck and was long gone by now. Her silver locket that contained a picture of her much younger human self and the portrait of the one that had given it to her when she was still human, when they both were still human. As the darkness overtook her she knew her hand had been forced. She would have to go back there, to them, if only to see them one last time before facing her enemies. If they discovered the truth sealed in the locket they would surely double their efforts to snare her.

She slid down to the cave floor as her mind slipped into oblivion.

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><p>Author's Note: So what do you think? This chapter ended up being quite a bit longer than the first chapter. I'm not quite as happy with chapter two as I was with the original version of it but there were a few things that happened in this version better than in the original. The biggest changes were the box canyon setting and originally Joshua was the one to survive but when I re-wrote Gio ended up surviving. Their relationship was also new to this version. Next chapter should be of mainly Bella and Alice. If all goes to plan we should get the first glimpses of Alice's vision falling out. Please leave a review. Seriously, even if it is just to tell me how much you hate this story. I accept flames just as well as I accept flattery;)<p> 


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